


Fleeting Wisps and Searing Flames

by PEDAwriter



Series: Burning Embers [2]
Category: Underfell - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Crossover, M/M, Meh, Underfell, Was it?, Will start adding tags as I go, i'm still contemplating if i want to throw in papcest as well, kustard - Freeform, rewrite of an rp, spicyblossom, this is kustard, what's the ship name...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-06-28 15:35:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15710139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PEDAwriter/pseuds/PEDAwriter
Summary: Post-pacifist Undertale.Seven years.It has been seven years since the barrier was broken.Seven years since the last RESET, and the kid didn't seem to want to go back anytime soon.It has been seven long years, and Sans was starting to slowly peek through the impenetrable walls he've built around himself.For the first time since the very first RESET from what felt like eons ago, Sans finally felt like things were looking up, for once.Most of the human population had accepted them by now, the surface world had finally started to see them as equals instead of outcasts from a time long ago.He could now breath that much easier, knowing there were less threats to his brother's well-being.Life was great.Finally, the past could finally stay in the past, burried along with the secrets, at long last.Then the universe decided to flop him over and sent everything toppling down.Poor Sans could only hope to get through this with his SOUL intact.





	1. Prologue: A Sunshiny Day at the Beach

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, here it is. Took me a while to finish this one.

It's a beautiful day at Ebott Seashore Beach.

The sun is shining.

The wind is blowing.

On days like these, guys like him...

Should really re-think his life choices.

Sans sighed, trying to relax for once as he listened to the sounds of his exitable brother charging towards the water.

Sans the skeleton, older brother to one of the biggest cinnamon rolls the universe has to offer, self-proclaimed comedian and lazybones extraordinaire. Age in monster years: early to mid-thirties, age in human years: n/a.

He used to have multiple part-time jobs, back in the Underground. Now he works in a legal hot dog stand, occasionally performs at MTT hotel and restaurant industries as well as in Grillby's bar and diner. He also has one other line of work, now that they live on the surface. Said occupation just so happens to be self-appointed, and no one else knows about it. He intends to keep it that way.

Sans groaned, smile strained, his tired bones barely co-operating as he pushed himself to sloppily set his things up on the sands. He barely got any sleep for the past week, the constant napping wasn't even helping anymore. Insomnia had been paying him visits for years, only this time the nightmares were much more vivid, for some reason. Not to mention, this undisclosed profession of his has to be performed at night, or at least when there are fewer chances of being spotted than in raw daylight. 

To be honest, he wants nothing more than to stay at home and laze the day away, rest his tired bones as much as he can. The only reason why he wasn't locked tight, sleeping soundly in his room right this second is because Papyrus practically begged him to come.

A few weeks prior, when Frisk came over for their occasional sleep-over, they decided to invite him to accompany them with their mom to the beach. 

Sans declined, of course. As much as he enjoys loafing under the sun, he likes sleeping in the privacy of his room a little more, so he said some jokes and well-timed puns, hoping that the kid would just leave it at that. He should've known better.

The kid was nothing, if not DETERMINED, so the gutsy little tot went to Papyrus instead.

The next thing Sans knew, Papyrus was squealing at him with sparkling eye sockets and an excited smile. He shot a look at Frisk, the kid smiled smugly in return.

Needless to say, there was not much he could do but to just go along with it and hope for the best.

Finally finished with his task, the skeleton plopped down on his back, his arms cushioning his skull, a pink and orange floral blanket acting as a barrier between his clothed bones and the fine, warm sand. A blue and green parasol is placed beside him, giving him shade against the blinding sun. 

He is wearing his signature jacket, along with his black shorts with white strips, his pink fuzzy slippers were long ago discarded in the sand somewhere nearby. Since Papyrus insisted on a change of clothes this morning, he had neglected to throw on a shirt and decided that it was decent enough before heading off to his brother's car.

Papyrus had barely held himself back from telling the smaller off for his show of laziness, begrudgingly admitting to himself that he haven't exactly been specific when he told his brother to "CHANGE YOUR OUTFIT FOR THE DAY!" 

Sans shook himself out of his thoughts. He was getting distracted. Tense, he turned his head to look towards his brother. The sight that greeted him calmed his SOUL somewhat, some of the rigidness in his frame slackening.

The taller skeleton, wearing his "cool dude" shirt, black boxers,  a few floaters on each arm as well as a swimming tube around his middle, is now splashing around on the shore, playing with Frisk as the human tries to build a sand castle a ways away from the water.

After looking around some more, Sans spots Toriel a short distance away from the other two by the water. 

The boss monster is wearing a lavender and yellow floral sun dress, a wicker basket placed beside her, presumably filled to the brim with delicious, home-cooked meals. She had somehow brought Chairiel with her, the chair's legs are now half-way buried in the sand due to the weight put upon them. She has her own umbrella placed behind Chairiel, this one a pastel pink and green color. A soft smile curled on her lips as she looked upon the joyful visage of her child having fun, a look on her face as if gazing at a dream long thought unobtainable.

Sans' shoulders relaxed all the way, his smile becoming something softer, more genuine, as he turned back to the mirthful scene. 

He knows exactly how she feels at this moment. 

He laid his head back down, staring up at towards the sky as his eyesockets begin to drop. 

He had felt it himself, so, so, many times before, after all. 

He yawned, releasing one, last sigh as weariness finally caught up and dragged him down to the depths of oblivion.

*Somewhere on the other side of Ebott City.*

The famous mountain Ebott stood tall in the distance, lively greens of undergrowth covered its surface as well as its surrounding land, decorating the former prison of a race undeserving of their plight.

With the sun casting golden beams amongst the depth of greens, creating an otherwordly scene, it was a beautiful sight to behold.

Yet if you take a closer look, you might notice something amiss, something not quite right about this otherwise ethereal scene.

The scene is one of stillness, not a single life in sight, in contrast to the usual bustle of nature.

Listen closely, and hear the silence which reigns where the birds once sang their captivating melodies.

Without warning, the wind stopped blowing with startling abruptness, the scented morning breeze held back in preparation for something big. Something more.

The calm before the storm.

Something shifted...

... and it all came crashing down.


	2. Chapter 1: Shifty Times S̶h̶i̶f̶t̶y̶ ̶S̶p̶a̶c̶e̶?̶

It didn't feel like he slept for long when Sans was roused by a feeling of wrongness polluting the air.

He tensed up, every single bone in his body stiff in anticipation. For what, he does not know.

Slowly, he opened his eye sockets, trying not to make any sudden movements that may show his awareness to any watching danger. Carefully, warily, he looked around, searching for anything out of place.

To his confusion, everything is exactly the same from when he had drifted off earlier. There isn't any evidence of anything even remotely threatening nearby.

Finally, his gaze darted over to where he had last seen Papyrus and Frisk earlier, only to see that they, too, seemed to have felt something as they have stopped playing and are currently looking around with wide, curious gazes, toys long forgotten on the sand.

Toriel seems to have sensed something as well, though like Sans, she's more circumspect. She stood up, looking around while keeping an extra careful eye on the two near the water.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of stillness, someone spoke.

"UM, HUMAN? WHY IS EVERYTHING SUDDENLY SO QUIET? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ENTHUSIASTIC SALTY BEACH WATER?"Papyrus asked, examining the water quizzically, a gloved hand on his chin, before looking at Frisk in confusion."IS IT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT?"

The human shook their head, an uneasy look on their face. A few seconds passed and finally, Papyrus' words registered to Sans.

The shorter skeleton subconsciously sat up, eyelights constricted, sharp and leery. Now that he mentioned it, Sans finally found what had been bothering him for the past five minutes. 

The sea looks unnaturally still, what few waves that could be seen are so weak and soft and eventually, those petered out as well. The water looks more like a calm, clear lake or a flat, flawless mirror. Gasps were heard when they beheld the entrancing sight, along with the sound of cellphone cameras going off. If he wasn't feeling like there was an invisible hand squeezing his rib rib cage, Sans would have gasped along with them.

The cool, gentle winds that blew just a few minutes ago is suddenly nowhere to be found, the air stifling and thick with waiting anticipation.

The skies that were a fair bit cloudy this morning are now irregularly clear and bright. Despite this, the sun that had been beating down upon them with its unforgiving heat and unwavering light, is now oddly subdued ans somehow dimmed.

The sudden hush bore down on his bones, choking silence making the air so smothering, so hard to breathe.

Something shifted.

Then, the panic set in.

Sans's SOUL is abruptly set on overdrive as a thousand rushing thoughts scattered throughout his skull. His eyelights pinpricks, dangerously bright; smile unnervingly wide, taking an almost unhinged quality. All he could think of was Papyrus-- 'Papyrus, must get to Papyrus-- where is he?!-- must find, must hide, must protect'-- and before he knew it, he is on his feet, speeding towards his brother.

Papyrus has his back towards Sans, still staring at the motionless sea. He looks uncharacteristically subdued.

Whatever is coming, Sans reached his brother before it happened. 

Sans has taken ahold of the taller one's arm when suddenly, there was a deafening boom, the sound seemingly coming from the direction of the city. What followed was something they could not have predicted and sent them sprawling on to the sand, Sans clinging to his brother as Papyrus holds Frisk, instinctively trying to protect the child from something he doesn't know what.

The ground is shaking so hard, it is impossible to remain standing. Trees are undulating, their barks creaking, threatening to give. From the distance, they could see the buildings and skyscrapers of Ebott City swaying precariously, could hear the faint sounds of glass shattering and concrete breaking as the trembling threatened their very foundations.

They could hear screams, of terror, of shock, of agony as people got caught unaware of the uexpected disaster.

Suddenly, as quickly as it started, the quaking stops, leaving everyone dazed on the ground.

For a moment, Sans thought it was over. He can feel himself start to relax, little by little. Then, an even bigger feeling of unease hit him. He turned deathly still, eyelights contracting into unreadable dots.

The feeling of something that wasn't there before, something that never was, but suddenly is. Something that doesn't belong. Something that wasn't supposed to be.

A new variable has been added, and the Universe's constant has been abruptly interupted.

A new set of codes, ones that has never before been exposed to this timeline, nor to any before it.

Sans doesn't know what was going on or why. He doesn't know what he just percieved, doesn't understand the churning emotions bubbling up in his SOUL.

Papyrus was the first to rise, sitting up with Frisk still held securely in his arms.

"WHAT WAS THAT, SANS? THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE! WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS STRANGE AND CONFUSING DAY?" Papyrus asked, looking utterly lost and disturbingly fearful.

"..."

Sans didn't answer. He didn't know what to say. He is just as confused as Papyrus-- if not, even more so due to these twisting sensations in his SOUL.

Something just changed; for better or for worse does not matter, he _knows_ it doesn't, it never really did. All he knows is that he will fight if he have to. Just like how he fought everyday since returning to the surface. Just like how he fought all those years ago in order to achieve his goals... back then.

Papyrus is perplexed, unbearably so, and might also be a smidge bit fearful after everything that had transpired. He wanted answers. And so, he decides to simply ask. He turns to speak to Sans,-- the older skeleton still clutching at his femur-- confident that his questions are about to be answered, only to be met with silence instead.

He stared expectantly at his brother, so much smaller than him and yet, so much smarter. Sans always answered any question he asked, no matter how serious or how silly it may be. To recieve only quietude after such inquiry from himself was troubling indeed.

"SANS?"He sofly called, concern lacing his voice. Silence, once more.

The taller skeleton only got more worried once he noticed the empty, unreadable look on his brother's face. He has never seen Sans like this before. He's seen him in his usual carefree, lazy, nonchalant, and aloof, sometimes even in a kind of irritatedly ignorant mood. Never before has he seen him completely blanked out like this. And with that smile on his face...

Papyrus shivered, dread finally too heavy to ignore.

Just what exactly was happening?

\---------------------

Papyrus was confused, unbearably so, and might also be a smudge bit fearful after everything that transpired. And so, he decided to simply ask. He turned to Sans, confident that his question was about to be answered, but recieved only silence instead.

He stared at his brother, so much shorter than himself and yet, so much smarter. Sans always answered any question he asked, no matter how serious or how silly it may be. To recieve only silence after such inquiry from himself was troubling indeed.

"SANS?"He sofly called, concern lacing his voice. Silence, once more.

The taller skeleton only got more worried once he noticed the empty, unreadable look on his brother's face. He has never seen Sans like this before. He's seen him in his usual carefree, lazy, nonchalant, aloof, even in a kind of irrtatedly ignorant mood. Never before has he seen him completely blanked out like this. And with that smile on his face...

Papyrus shivered, dread finally too heavy to be ignored.

Just what exactly was happening?

*Meanwhile...*

The world was jerking around him, stuttering, shifting. For a moment, all there was were the darkness and the noise, the jarring motion of the ground beneath him.

There were pieces absent from his memory, distorted voices and the feeling of being one with the f*****g Underground. When he was finally himself again, finally just Sans again, it was like everything around him had exploded.

His body knocked hard against the cracked, stone floor, bits and pieces of the cieling raining down on and around him. He curled into a ball, trying to be as small as possible, trying to be less of a target.

Suddenly, larger pieces of the ceiling falls dangerously close, landing to what sounds like a few feet away. A shot of fear raced through him, jumpstarting his SOUL and snapping him out of his daze with a distressed sound, the noise escaping before he could stop himself. He tries to assess the situation, only to be met with a head-splitting headache and a jumbled mind. He tries to remember what happened before this,-- what could have possibly taken place to have caused all this?-- only to find that his memory is currently like an unsolved jigsaw puzzle with several pieces missing. The harder he thought, the worse his heat hurt, so he decided to put off remembering until later. 

Another rock fell, this one from across the room but sounds significantly bigger than the one near him. After a quick check, he came to the conclusion that no, he can not even stand on his own two feet at the moment and that yes, he won't be able to dodge s*** in his present condition. Not to mention his current lack of ability to see anything at the moment.

For a minute, he contemplated teleporting out. But then a thought entered his head 'Papyrus...' right... Papyrus was with him, still is, somewhere in this room. That alone dashed all thoughts of fleeing from his mind. Having no other choice, he curled into himself even further, shutting his eyesockets tight and covering the sides of his skull,-- where his ears would be-- trying hard not to listen to everything falling apart around him.

Slowly, the chaos abates, until all that's left is the sound of small rocks clinking against the floor and thin motes of dirt, hissing to the ground. A few seconds more, and the dense clouds of dust clogging the air, thick enough to disable the skeleton's ability to see, eventually begins to subside, gathering in layers upon layers on the ground. In the distance, he thought he heard a few more rumbles. Cave in's, collapsing tunnels...

What just happened?

Cautiosly, he started to straighten himself out from his coil, the dimmed light of his eyes casting a faint, red glow across the settling dust. "b-boss?" He coughed, searching for any sign of his brother.

"SANS..." Came the growling response. Sans was turning towards the voice before a red gloved fist gripped the front of his shirt and hauled him up, off of his feet to look directly into glaring, empty sockets. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Standing before him, holding him at eye-level, is a taller skeleton with a scowl on his face. The taller one, Papyrus, is the current Captain of the Royal Guard, also Sans' b̶e̶l̶o̶v̶e̶d̶ younger brother. The captain wears a worn, red scarf, a dusty, black chest plate that looks like tattered fabric at the bottom, black shoulder pads, tight, black leather pants, and red, heeled boots the same color as the red gloves currently fisting Sans' shirt.

The shorter one begins to sputter, sweat beading on his skull as he waved his hands in frantic denial. "wh-wha-- no! wasn' me, boss! i-i swear!" His voice cracks in haste and fear. He has to wonder though... _had_ he done something? He can't remember. There are missing patches from his memories. He doesn't even remember how he'd ended up in this room. Hadn't they been at the Barrier just moments ago? He is just so unsure of himself...

"My child!" A woman's frantic voice cut through the air, drawing the attention of both skeletons as the once estranged queen clambored across the rubble-strewn ground. It reminded Sans that they weren't alone here. There had been others with them.

The exiled queen, Toriel, is a Boss Monster, a goat-like monster with white fur and red, bloodshot eyes that looks just a little bit more deranged in her panic. She is wearing a dusty, tattered black robe with red sleeves and a red Delta Rune embroidered at the chest. She's currently devoid of any footwear-- which made Sans wince, seeing as she's mindlessly stomping on sharp stones and rubble.

"My child, look at me! Look at me pLeAse!" Toriel wailed, crumbling to the ground, clawed hands desperately grasping at a small body. 

Dirty brown hair fell over a bruised face. 

Sans made out a torn, red and black striped sweater. His SOUL twisted; the kid...

"Please, please! My child! Say something!" Panick-stricken, Toriel shook them, sharpened digits digging into the small body, perhaps a little harder than they should have. "No no no nonoNONONO NO!! Not another one! Please!" Her voice cracked, tears streaming through her fur as she begins to rock the flaccid child.

Frisk, a the seventh SOUL to fall, a DETERMINED human child. They wear a ripped, red and black sweater, brown shorts, and an old pair of shoes. On their head sat a mop of brown hair, slightly contrasting against their yellowish skin.

"kid..." Sans rasped. Papyrus limply released him, staring in shock at what he thought to be an indestructible _friend_. Sans scrambled up from the ground, stumbling towards the pair. Someone else beat him there.

Asgore Dreemur, King of monsters, ruler of the underground. A Boss Monster with goat-like features, white fur, black hair and beard, and malicious, red eyes. He wears a red cape, big enough to act as a cloak. He has on full, dark armor underneath-- slightly dented in some places due to earlier's catastrophy. On his head lies a goled crown, situated between two large horns that looks shap enough to impale anyone.

"Tori--" The king started, before catching himself and stepping back, away from his weeping ex.

The former queen stiffened; just hearing his voice made an inferno of rage erupt within her. Her body shakes as she forced herself to turn, her eyes piercing into Asgore with such intensity that it's a wonder the king didn't fall to dust then and there. 

"You...." She seethed. "You did this. You took them from me... Just like all of them! You took my baby from me!!" She roars, surging to her feet, craddling the child delicately in one arm as the other roared to life with flames.

Asgore shifted to a defensive stance, blood red trident coming easily to his hand as if by reflex, even as his face fell and his teeth clenched.

"M-mnn" the voice is sof, barely audible, but it caught everyone's attention nonetheless. 

Toriel freezes in place, looking down at the human she's holding as her fire snuffs out.

Calamity averted, Asgore let out a sigh of relief, dispelling his weapon.

Sans can see Papyrus relax marginally and stand a little straighter at the corner of his eyelights. He himself let out a breathy little laugh as the human shifts and groans, lifteing their little hand to their head.

"My child!" Toriel wailed, collapsing to her knees as she buries her face against that ragged striped sweater.

"jeeze kid, don't scare us like that." Sans chuckled, stepping over to the pair.

A few feet away, there's a roar as a fish person exploded from a pile of rubble. "NNGAAAAHHH!! Somebody tell me what just hit me so I can kick it's a**!!"

Undyne, Second in Command of the Royal Guard, personally trained by the king himself and raised by an old war veteran. She is a blue fish monster with long, red hair, and a red and yellow eye. She wears her full, black armor, sans the helmet, as well as an eyepatch over her one, blind eye. 

"Ugh... I th-think it was the mountain..." Alphys groans, sitting up from where she'd been sheilded beneath Undyne. "I-I don't think you can technically k-kick it's a**..." A thin trickle of blood drips from her nose, giving her voice a more nasal qualitythan it normally has. Absently reaching up, she dabs at it with the sleeve of her lab coat.

Alphys, the current Royal Scientist, is a yellow lizard-like monster with a buck teeth and a nervous stutter. She always seems to wear her stained, dusty lab coat as well as her foggy glasses.

"Watch me!!!" And with that, Undyne storms down the shabby tunnel they all have found themselves in. She didn't get very far before she froze in her tracks.

Sans had just stepped over to Toriel and the kid and was moving to kneel and check up on them, when Undyne's voice drifted back from down the corridor.

"Hey, uh... Guys?... Is... Is this where the barrier was?..."

_Was?_

Sans's eyelights shoot up at the words, everyone else turning abruptly towards the fish woman a short distance away. They are all wearing similar, disbelieving faces. Looking past her, they see something incredible... an impossible ray of light.

Toriel and Alphys both pull themselves to their feet, the queen still clutching the newly concious human to her chest, and everyone starts rushing towards the end of the tunnel.

What greeted them at the end is the most beautiful thing Sans had seen in hundreds of years. Everything is blindingly bright. A glowing orb, right in the middle of an endless expanse of blue and fuzzy whites. The sky. It is the Surface. His sharp teeth parts in an incredulous little laugh, his eyes hungrily taking in every detail of the world he'd been closed off from for far, far too long. That _everyone_ had been denied from for decades, _centuries_.

Sans thought that this would be it. That there would be no more deaths, no more repeats. That all their suffering would end, then and there as everyone's problem finally disapeared. Then he turns his head and just next to them, he saw a second mountain. Now... his memories are admittedly fuzzy, given how long it had been since he had last been out here, but he is pretty sure that there had only ever been one mountain... and he is currently standing on it.

"hey, uh... kid?" He speaks softly, turning to the child who has now also caught sight of the abnormality, a sort of stiffness showing on their shoulders, giving away what Sans already knew. He asked anyways. "Is that s'pose ta be there?"

The human slowly shook their head, no.

What is going on?


	3. Chapter 2: First Interactions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, chapter two. This took way longer than I would have liked, but at least now I can start on chapter three.
> 
> I kinda kept rushing while writing this, since my schedule is getting a bit tight, so this thing might be littered in grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.

Unfortunately for the newly freed monsters, the peace didn't last long. Before they knew it, there were metal, _human_ contraptions hovering in the sky, stirring up the newly settled dust once more.

Things got hectic, the small group at the summit had been collected and taken to the headquarters of the human town leaders. It took everything within them not to lash out and attack someone. In fact, just seeing so many _humans_ with so many _weapons_ made it extremely hard not to go into a fear-and-rage-induced rampage.

Luckily, Asgore isn't a complete air head after all! When he saw just how little they knew about the surface, seeing as they've been technically living under a rock this whole time, he realized quickly that they wouldn't be able to win any kind of violent _confrontation_ against the humans. And so, as soon as he discreetly can, seeing as Undyne seem to have been a bit... jumpy, he told them to act as _docile_ as they can, as well as to not use any magic unless necessary. That was one of his best decisions in hundreds of years! Too bad he won't be king for long-- not if Toriel has anything to say about it, at least.

Speaking of Toriel, she _won't stop glaring at people!_ She won't let go of Frisk, either, she just kept carrying them around and sitting them in her lap, all the while glowering at anyone who came too close. The child was just smiling apologetically this whole time.

Things were tense, most of the humans were watching like hawks, eyeing them like they'd just crawled up out of hell and were planning to eat their kids-- which is true, considering... uh, let's not get into that.

Moving on, Frisk had been an absolute _godsend_. So had Papyrus, actually, given his newfound enthusiasm for the human world! Well, seeing as they spotted a deep black race car, _like the one he've always wanted_ , on the road probably added to his excitement.

Sans was, well... he looked pretty much at ease, actually. He was calmer than usual, almost like there's not a single problem in the world, and he seemed to be more talkative than usual-- as soon as they arrived at the headquarters, he started spewing out jokes and puns, so much of them, that some of the humans even cracked a smile for a bit.

Undyne was jittery the entire time, straight as a board, refusing to turn her back to anyone, even if it means walking backwards, while wearing this painful smile on her face whenever a human confronts her. She didn't say anything-- which is a relief since they doubt she could manage to say anything even remotely _non-provocative_ at the moment.

Alphys, meanwhile, turned to the nearest human there was and started what can only be called a monolouge on the logistics of science, real life, history, and anime. The poor guy looked like he'd rather be anywhere but there, which is unfortunate for him, since the scientist didn't let him out of her clutches until they had to go. She just about talked his ears off.

Everyone was shocked and, maybe a little bit apprehensive, when they heard that there were already monsters up on the surface and that they've actually been living there for a solid seven years. It was an even bigger shock when a softer, blonder version of their king walked in and offered them tea. He did it so awkwardly... he's an incredibly fuzzy pushover, aparently. It was almost cute, or at least, Toriel seemed to think so, as she didn't treat him the same way she treats _their_ Asgore. For some reason, she was acting almost _affectionate?_ with the guy? The black haired Asgore didn't seem to think so highly of his blonde counterpart though, as he was glaring holes and radiating intent the whole time... But that's a story for another time! Long story short, Blonde goat dude walks in, offers tea, then they talk about stuff. That's about it for now.

Anyways, it seems like the monsters each have a softer double living above ground for several years. It's like their whole mountain had been picked up by some invisible hand and unceremoniously dropped into a completely different universe, cause that was _not_ a smooth landing, whatsoever.

After that, they were allowed to go home. They were to live in the mountain until the proper procedures has been met and they can be allowed to legaly live somewhere above ground. Of course, no one was happy about this, but just the though of being able to go out whenever they want, that's enough for them to at least wait just a little longer.

While waiting, they had nothing else to do than to deal with impatient monsters, sit around and twiddle their thumbs, or sit around doing nothing.

Toriel returned to the Ruins along with Frisk-- thankfully, she didn't close the door this time.

Undyne and Papyrus was left to deal with irrate monsters, mobs and riots, all wanting to go to the surface now that the barrier was broken, as well as assess the damage dealt by the cave-ins during "the crash"-- which is what they're calling the incident with the falling mountain.

Asgore was left to wallow in his throne, making plans about political stuff, and thinking about what he was supposed to do now when this is all over and peace has been achieved. He honestly don't know.

Alphys, meanwhile, somehow met and got to know her softer counterpart in the short time that they were on the topside. They hit it off quite nicely, sharing fanfictions, comparing the differences about their anime collection, they even started investigating what happened to have caused such phenomenon as "the crash".

Sans... was just happy about his lot. He didn't have to do sentry duty anymore, since they didn't need human SOULs anymore. The hotdog business wasn't exactly buying at the moment, since everyone is busy either trying to kill each other or trying to escape. With nothing to do, no responsibilities to worry about, he can basically do whatever he wants! Which he set off to do as soon as he got to his room, which is, to say, sleep. Of course, he've thought of his own theory about what happened to have-- heh-- _landed_ them in this situation. After all, that weird flower that been practically attatched to Frisk throughout their journey Underground seemed to have gone missing. Sans would bet good money that the weed had something to do with this... He'd think more about it, but meh, too tired. He'll work on it some other day.

Now a week has passed, and things were still incredibly tense, despite humans being used to seeing monsters walking down the streets. The fell monsters, as they have taked to being called, were slowly making their way out of the mountain. Integration was slow going still, but hey! At least they're not trying to kill each other at any chance they get anymore. It might have helped that the fell population seemed to be much smaller than that of the native universe.

Sans and Papyrus set up with some temporary housing at the foot of their mountain along with many other monsters. It wasn't much, more like a shabby shack than anything, but it was all they can put together in such short time; usable tents don't exactly last long in the dump. They'd buy themselves some new ones, but they haven't officially been given rights yet, and they couldn't exactly trust humans to be fair about the prices just yet. Well sure, they had a house down below, but the flimsy walls and leaky roofs were a small price to pay if it means being able to wake up under the actual sky after being denied of all this for so long. Plus, it was nice to be able to simply peer out the window at night and see the stars.

Today, Sans had decided to start exploring a bit and check out the resident Grillby's. His own homeverse bartender, Chillby, had opted to stay under for now. Sans figured it had something to do with those who _couldn't_ come up top yet. Chillby always came off as a harda**, but Sans knew a bleeding heart when he saw one. ~~H̶̶̶e̶̶̶'̶̶̶d̶̶̶ ̶̶̶s̶̶̶e̶̶̶e̶̶̶n̶̶̶ ̶̶̶t̶̶̶h̶̶̶e̶̶̶m̶̶̶ ̶̶̶b̶̶̶l̶̶̶e̶̶̶e̶̶̶d̶̶̶ ̶̶̶t̶̶̶o̶̶̶ ̶̶̶d̶̶̶e̶̶̶a̶̶̶t̶̶̶h̶̶̶ ̶̶̶w̶̶̶i̶̶̶t̶̶̶h̶̶̶ ̶̶̶h̶̶̶i̶̶̶s̶̶̶ ̶̶̶v̶̶̶e̶̶̶r̶̶̶y̶̶̶ ̶̶̶e̶̶̶y̶̶̶e̶̶̶s̶̶̶.̶ ̶H̶̶̶e̶̶̶'̶̶̶d̶̶̶ ̶̶̶s̶̶̶e̶̶̶e̶̶̶n̶̶̶ ̶̶̶t̶̶̶h̶̶̶e̶̶̶m̶̶̶ ̶̶̶w̶̶̶a̶̶̶y̶̶̶ ̶̶̶t̶̶̶o̶̶̶o̶̶̶ ̶̶̶m̶̶̶a̶̶̶n̶̶̶y̶̶̶ ̶̶̶t̶̶̶i̶̶̶m̶̶̶e̶̶̶s̶̶̶.̶̶̶.̶̶̶.̶̶~~ He wondered how Grillby compared.

Stepping into the bar, he took the place in. Warm, inviting... and full of staring, native verse monsters. A few of them looked like they wanted to get up and greet him, but reconsidered when they finally noticed his sharp teeth and red eyelights. He narrowed his eye sockets at them, grin sharply jeking upwards. It makes him wonder, just how many fell verse alternates these marshmallows had met so far...

Giving the Dogs' tables a wide berth, he approached the bar, amused to find Grillby actually orange. He supposed it was a little more fitting color for a flame than purple, but he couldn't help missing the smirking face of his closest friend.

"hey, hot stuff. how bout ya hit me up with a bottle a' mustard?" He hopped up on his usual stool, and folded his arms on the counter. "and ******** it, how bout a burger too? could use some meat on these bones." He chuckled, actually feeling the atmosphere losing some of it's tenseness at the joke. He could still feel a number of eyes on him, but a cursory glance around the bar showed them to be more curious than anything... heh, probably cause they've never seen a skeleton monster with a golden tooth before. It still kept him on edge, though it was a bit reassuring to be out and about and not feel like someone was waiting for the right opportunity to shank him.

After a few more minutes in the bar, he finally let his guard down just that little more. What do you know, maybe he'd actually be able to relax for once.

₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩

Sans sighed, sinking into the couch as weariness weighted down on his bones. He closed his eyes, thinking back to how much more peaceful it was, just a mere week before all this. He could hardly even believe he once complained about the monotony of it all. Then again, this isn't exactly what he had in mind when he prayed for a change of pace. Now, he'd give just about anything to have that semblance of simplicity back.

One week ago, he was manipulated by his own brother to "take a load off" when the cinnamon roll heard about Frisk's spoken invitation to the beach. Then they just _had_ to practically kidnap his unwilling coccyx, just to get him to the car. He was tired enough at the time that he decided to humor them for once and took the opportunity to have the first genuine nap he had for weeks.

Then it all went to hell in a picnic basket.

After the earthquake fiasco, Sans had opted to drag his brother to his car-- for once, _he_ gets to do the dragging-- when the taller skeleton kept insisting to escort the Dreemurs home despite everyone else's protests. Any other time, he wouldn't have been opposed to it. In fact, he probably would have tagged along if it meant continuing his nap in the car for just a few minutes more. But this was something that has never happened before, an anomaly in the timelines, never before have they experienced an earthquake,-- or at least, not to this magnitude-- not to mention, that unsettling feeling permeating the air...

Needless to say, he was _not_ willing to take any chances.

Plus, Toriel is more than capable of taking care of both herself and the human, he _knows_ that, he had seen it before.

After successfully containing the younger skeleton in his car, they said their hasty goodbyes, and Sans sped out of there as fast as he is willing to go. Cause of course, Papyrus wouldn't cooperate; he was too busy pouting in the passenger seat. Sans himself had to work the vehicle, having to force himself to think nothing of it and focus on the road to head home. Let's just say, there's a reason why he prefers using bicycles and motorcycles to travel places.

It was a pretty long drive-- about two hours at most. Usually, it would take thirty to fourtyfive minutes to go from the beach, to all the way at the other side of the city, where their ner house is. But apparently, the earlier phenomenon had brought with it more devastation than he had anticipated. There were multiple car accidents on the streets, causing heavy trafic throughout the city. Broken glass peppered the concrete, scattered about on the streets. At several different times, Sans caught glimpses of the familiar sight of _human corpses_ , sprawled upon the ground with that liquid _red_ splattered about, before he'd averted his gaze as fast as physically possible.

He was suddenly glad about Papyrus's cute habit of hiding half of his face in his scarf and keeps his head down whenever he's upset.

It felt like several eternities passed before the buildings finally thinned out, replaced by flat, dusty grounds, and half-dead grass that slowly grew thicker and healthier the farther he drove, and the nearer they got to their destination.

Sans have been saving gold, long before the resets started, with the hope that maybe one day, he can get his baby bro that car he'd always dreamed of. Sans and Papyrus were one of the first to exchange their gold for human currency, along with the Royal Family and the ex-captain and Royal Scientist. That means they had the advantage of converting cash before the value of gold dramatically dropped due to the metal flooding the markets. Because of this, they are pretty much filthy rich... with money they had no idea what to do with. They were wealthy enough that they could probably live their whole lifetime in relative comfort, without having to do any kind of work to earn more. Not that Papyrus would ever allow that, that is probably his greatest nightmare or something.

It would have probably been wiser to buy a house just big enough for the both of them, with a guest room for the occassional guests, but Paps wanted it and they had more than enough money to afford it, so who was he to deny him?

Their new house-- a three floor house which is frankly, way too big for just the both of them-- sat at the outskirts of the forest surrounding Mt. Ebott. It had eight bedrooms, two of which they had already taken for themselves and the other six made into guest rooms for when their friends decide to come over. The five bathrooms-- one on each floor and one each in the two biggest bedrooms-- are mostly unused aside from the usual bathing rituals, since monsters don't need to use the toilet unless they eat excessive human foods. At the back of the house, there is a bench for whenever anyone wanted to enjoy the scenery of open fields and natural greens. _Not to mention the hidden basement he found--_

The exterior is painted a calming assortment of white, light blues and soft orange hues. Curtains covered the windows of each unoccupied rooms, all in a honey-gold color with sunset yelow swirls. The dark mahogany doors are big enough to let Asgore through without him having to bend, the golden doorknobs barely comfortable for Sans to reach. All around the house, green grass and wild flowers freely grew-- Papyrus thought they looked pretty, though he does cut them every now and then whenever the grass grew too tall. The roof tiles are a deep amber color, the chimney painted a gentle orange. All in all, the outside looks like a mishmash of oranges and blues, courtesy of Papyrus, while also looking pretty good and homey. It is painted in a way that somehow does not look chaotic at all and instead, the colors complimented each other.

The interior is colored pretty much the same, only with more gentler, softer hues and more blues and yellows, unlike the exterior. While the halls and the living room and almost anywhere else follow the same color patterns, the kitchen is all decked in almost-blinding white tiles with only the minimal icy blue highlights. The bathrooms are pretty much the same, only with light amber instead of blue. The bedrooms, however, have varrying colors. Papyrus's room is an assortment of colors between peach pearl and amber, his red oak furniture blending in nicely, the younger taking the liberty to express himself through the colors of his humble abode. Sans's, however, is instead a mix of icy and gentle blues, as well as the occasional honey gold hues, his rosewood furnitures contrasting with the calm shades.

In terms of new furnishings, Sans would have let Papyrus pick that as well, but the younger insisted on his input, and so, together, they picked a variation of warm and dark colored woods. They had every bedroom newly furnished-- except for Papyrus' racecar bed, he kept that for sentimentality's sake.

They had moved all the good furnitures they had from the Underground over, since they had no reason to buy new ones when what they already have were still perfectly usable (even though that lumpy green couch does _not_ agree with the living room's colors)-- Papyrus's words, not his. So everything's pretty much newly bought, except for their old belongings.

When he finally had their house in sight, Sans couldn't stop a sigh of relief. Finally. Home sweet home.

That comfort didn't last long, however, when Sans just so happened to have glanced past the house and spotted the mountain,-- which seemed to have replicated itself...?-- which just so happened to have helicopters and armed _humans_ meandering around.

Needless to say, he had _never_ driven a car so fast in his long, suffering life.

Thankfully, Papyrus seemed to have drifted off sometime during the drive home, must have been tuckered out with everything that's been happening lately. However, as soon as I hit the gas, he startled awake and started flailing about in horror at the speed when the current driver hightailed it out. Looks like Papyrus will be getting what he wanted after all.

Sans drove back to the other direction, heading over to Tori and Frisk's, but taking the longer route around the city in order to spare his brother the emotional trauma, now that he was well and aware.

After thirty more minutes of driving, Sans slowed to a stop and finally gave in to the harrowing feeling in his chest and gave the wheel to Papyrus. The younger gladly took over, regarding his brother curiously, before finally asking, "WELL? WHERE ARE WE GOING, BROTHER? WHY ARE WE IN SUCH A HURRY?" The taller's gaze became searching as his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "IS THERE ANY REASON AS TO WHY YOU WERE DRIVING SO SPEEDILY? I AM AWARE OF YOUR INTIMIDATION WITH SUCH VEHICLES, YOU DO NOT NORMALLY OPERATE WITH SUCH HASTE."

Sans winced. He was plopped limply on the passenger's seat with his seat belt lazily secured, looking like he's in dire need of sleep-- which is exactly what he needs the most at the moment.

"uh. n-no reason, bro." Sans mumbled, voice barely loud enough to be heard. "j-jus' yanno, wanted to get there soon as possible." A yawn, "and hey, looks like we're going to toriel's after all! maybe we could ask for a sleep over. how wouldja like that, bro?"

A gasp, gloved hands going up to a smiling mouth. Sparkling eyesockets stared down at him with hope. "REALLY?"

Sans chuckled. His brother was just too cute for his own good sometimes. "yeah, bro."

Papyrus squealed, bouncing on his seat. "THAT IS GREAT NEWS, BROTHER! THEN I GUESS WE MUST GET THERE AS SOON AS LEGALLY POSSIBLE!" The younger skeleton had started the car, just getting ready to go, when he suddenly paused, turning to Sans with a calculative gaze. "WAIT A SECOND. IF WE ARE HEADING TO THE HUMAN FRISK'S HOUSE, THEN WHY ARE WE HERE? WHY ARE WE TAKING THIS ROUTE?"

The older brother sighed, slumping down even further. "a-ah, you see, paps, remember that, uh, incident earlier?"

Papyrus looked inquisitive. "INCIDENT? WHAT INCIDENT? DO YOU, MAYHAPS, MEAN THE SHAKING OF THE GROUND THIS MORNING? THAT WAS A LITTLE WORRYING."

"uh, yeah. that. listen, paps, it wasn't exactly a small thing. it happened to the city too, i think."

"*GASP* REALLY? OH, NO! I HOPE NOTHING BAD HAPPENED!"

"well ya see, bro, that's the thing, i drove through the city earlier. you didn't notice earlier 'cause you were so busy _skull_ king--"

"I DON'T SULK!"

"-- but i saw quite a few things that makes driving through the city relatively harder and longer."

"OH, NO! POOR HUMANS... SUCH CRISIS MUST BE HARD WITH SUCH CHALLENGES IN YOUR WAY. BUT FEAR NOT! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL LEND YOU MY HELP, THE BEST WAY I POSSIBLY CAN! AS SOON AS I POSSIBLY CAN, OF COURSE! UNFORTUNATELY, I SEEM TO HAVE A SCHEDULE PLANNED."

Sans watched his brother pose as he gave his spiel, fond amusement bubbling up from his dried up SOUL, making his smile all the more genuine, the way only his brother can. "heh. sure thing, bro."

Papyrus drove with a fierce "NYEH HEH HEH!", his excitement momentarily dampening his concern. And onwards they go.

It had taken them a few hours more to get there, giving Sans the opportunity to nap during the ride.

Finally, they have arrived, only to be met with an empty house and a note saying that the ambasador had gone on a political business.

Sans called Toriel, informing her of where they were and why, in which she responded surprisingly unsurprised at the mention of duplicating mountains. Turns out, just an hour before, both the boss monster and Frisk had been called in regards to something about a "mountain falling from the sky"? Unfortunately, she doesn't know much just yet, though she did promise to tell him what she knows when they get back home.

They had ended up having that sleep over, to the cinnamon roll's dilight, in the guise of looking after the house while Tori and the kid were away.

It took a whole day before Toriel and Frisk finally came back, and stars if they had quite the story to tell!

Apparently, there were these new monsters, copies of the ones that appeared several years ago, that came from that other mountain-- which actually did come from the freaking sky!

The humans would say that it was a gift from heaven, the superstitious ones, that is, if it weren't for the new monsters' rather violent tendencies. Because of this, some doltish humans got it in their head to form a cult thing to exterminate the "threat to humankind", completely ignoring the fact that these monsters were trying to hold off said violent propensities and seemed to be trying their absolute best to act docile.

Sans was appalled, just what exactly was going on!? Papyrus, however, was just plain confused, but excited about the prospect of "MEETING NEW FRIENDS!", nonetheless.

Eventually, they had to go. Sans was more than just a bit warry about going home after what he'd seen earlier, so he was undertandably relieved when they came back and saw two mountains devoid of humans when they arrived.

The week passed from there, and he still could not decide if it went frighteningly fast or torturously slow. Throughout it all, he barely had time to rest, to even get a blink of sleep as his job seemed to have steadily gone much harder than before.

The new human hate group,-- the one that formed when the newbies arrived-- had decided that it was time to strike, just two days before the news arrived. They started anonimously vandalizing monster settlements, as well as harassing random monsters on the streets. Nobody seemed to have cared too much about it, however. Apparently, the police thought it was just random teenagers, or some crazy hobo or something. It wasn't until dust piles, _monster dust_ , started appearing in run down alleyways did they finally take things seriously.

The attacks had been getting more daring as time passed, their deeds getting so bold that, ultimately, Sans himself felt unsafe, enough for him to determine that he needed to do something about it. Hence, why his job seemed to require more overtime during the past few days.

Sans, well, he just felt so tired. He rarely even got any sleep nowadays, these new problems just had to pop up and shove itself into his face, didn't it?

Not to mention last night...

Long story short, a certain group of moronic humans decided that it would be a _great_ idea to attempt their usual deeds _way_ too close to Papyrus' precious bakery.

Originally, Sans had really wanted to leave this specific fraternity to the police,-- they weren't exactly a particularly big group of ne'er-do-wells, and they weren't exactly what you'd call 'thorough' at keeping their tracks covered-- but he felt dangerously threatened by this; good or not, these were still humans they were dealing with. And as much as he tries to, he can never forgetjust what a single human can do with a simple _toy_ and the right amount of intent.

He ACTed

Their hideout was easy enough to find, in fact, it didn't even take him an hour to find. Guess those goons were even lousier than he thought.

With that out of the way, it didn't take him long to study the lay-out of the place and pinpoint the the room in which his target is hidden. More specifically, a certain stack of paper that could very well anihilate the fraternity if ever they go into the hands of the police.

Now that he knows where he needs to go, Sans started planning. It was a simple enough strategy to follow; he was just supposed to sneak in to their oh-so-very-well-hidden hiding quarters-- an old abandoned building, deep in the slums-- and mess with their files, maybe anonymously drop a few folders somewhere around a random police station to quicken the operation.

Later that night, Sans was finally alone in his room after reading "Fluffy Bunny" to his brother, he struck.

He donned his equipments, his work clothes, and departed.

He snuck in, and went undetected throughout it all. Everything was going according to the plan.

What he didn't mean to do, however, was to take yet another life.

Thing is, he was weary and distracted-- he didn't get to sleep the other night, nor the night before that-- and that made him sloppy.

He got spotted.

He didn't really have a better choice at that point. The guy was staring right at him. He had already gotten the documents, had already stored it in his phone storage-- all thanks to Alphys!-- and was just about to escape through the window. He was tired, practically dead on his feet, he wasn't able to detect the human stumbling right outside the door, nor the heavy stench on alcohol permeating the air around said human. He was surprised, startled, he froze, and thinking back on it, the guy was drunk enough that he probably would've gotten away with it if he leapt out then and there. Only he didn't. He had frozen on the spot in surprise, enabling the human of seeing him in the act of fleeing through defenestration.

He didn't have a choice. So, he panicked and ACTed before he could properly think about it. Then again, with how slow his thought process was getting, it's doubtful that he'd be able to think fast enough before the guy moves and calls for help. He lunged and grabbed ahold of the man's shirt, pulling the guy with him, before leaping out the window. He moved fast, acting mostly on instinct and muscle memory,-- or magic, in his case-- and in a single movement, ripped the guy's clothes for a sizeable piece of cloth. Poor bloke never got a chance.

The human was too shocked to move, snapping out of it a moment too late. The first thing he saw when he walked into that office, was the blue fur of someone's cloak, and the next thing he knew, he was staring up at the sky as they fell. From the thirty seventh floor of the building. The guy opened his mouth to scream, only for it to be gagged not a moment later. That was the moment when, he knew, then and there, that he won't be able to prevent what happens next.

Sans steeled himself, ignoring the painfully empty feeling in his SOUL, needlessly telling himself that the did not enjoy this, not one bit. ~~H̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶s̶a̶y̶ ̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶l̶i̶k̶e d̶ ̶i̶t̶, ̶e̶i̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ .  .  .~~

He threw the man down in mid-air, before taking a shortcut in a flash of blue, reappearing just few buildings away. His blue furred coat fluttered for a moment, before settling as he stood there and watched, away from prying eyes.

His mind went blank.

A wet _*SPLAT!!!*_ \-- a thud on the ground.

The crackling sound of bones, _breaking_ \--

 _*SPLATTER*_ , red on the wall-- on the floor--

Red-- _won't come off--_

_REDREDRED-- Get it off,_

**RED...**

_no, no, nO, no, No, no, no, nO, NO, NO, NO, N O--_

**R E D--**

Sans shot up on the couch, eye sockets wide in panic. His eyelights were shaky, his breathing, labored as his SOUL thrumed rappidly from the rush of magic. As soon as awareness set in, he immediately went about calming himself down. With ease born of practise, he evened out his breathing.

It was a dream. A memory.

He had unintentionally fallen asleep while lost in thought. He must've been more exhausted than he initially thought he was.

For what felt like the tenth time that day, he sighed. He plopped back down on the couch in a possition that radiated pure lazyness, and with nary a thought, checked the time.

It was just about time for lunch. Sans thought about it for a moment, weighting the pros and cons of whether he should eat first or use the time to get the sleep his body very much needed. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to have a bite or two. Plus, he didn't have to stay out for long, and he could always just order take out and eat it at home.

Making his decision, Sans opted to check in at Grillby's.

People had been worrying about him lately, probably because he looked as bad as he felt. They kept shooting him concerned glances whenever they thought he wasn't looking. Grillby in particular, seemed about ready to jump his boney hind, the last time he saw him. That was about three days ago, so maybe a visit would ease his concerns.

Happy with his conclusion, Sans nodded to himself and smiled.

The vertically challenged skeleton stood up, swaying a bit from the lead weighting down his bones. Man, when was the last time he had eaten again?

Taking one last look around, Sans scanned every nook and cranny of their homey living room. After a few moments, he finally deemed it safe and too a short cut, right after making sure that the doors and windows were locked. He popped up in a secluded alleyway, several blocks away from Grillby's new bar, with nothing but a flickering blue light to signal his arrival.

The walk to the bar had always been so peaceful and calming. With the numbing bustle of activity all around him, people minding their own business, nobody paying him any mind, it made him feel invisible, detached from the world. It never failed to make his SOUL at ease.

After the pleasant walk he just had, Sans finally reached the bar with a calm, peaceful look on his face. Smile unconciously going softer, he gripped the door handle, anticipating the usual warm welcome.

He opened the door, only to be met with silence.

Confused, he looked around. All the other customers seemed to be facing towards the bar, giving no mind to the food on their plates. The establishment was oddly quiet, an air of unease permeating through the normally warm atmosphere. A quick glance showed that they appeared to have been staring at something at the bar...

Or rather, _someone._

Sans stared at the fell monster, seemingly in shock at his own, rotten luck.

From his angle, he could mostly see the monster's back. Said monster was garbed mostly in black. From what he could see, the fell appeared to be wearing a black jacket with off-white fur linning the hood, a pair of red shoes, and black shorts like his own, only the strips that run down each legs are colored yellow instead of white. Something about this just seemed familiar for some reason.

On second glance, the monster just so happens to be of the skeletal variety.

Just. His. Luck.

Face blank and just so done with it all, Sans got ready to nope it out if there.

"Hey, look, it's Sans!" A voice shouted out from a corner.

The fell turned slightly as the bar's occupants started greeting 'Sans'. D**n but it was weird to hear people call out his name like that, seeing as it wasn't actually directed at him. Not to mention, how f***ing weird it was to hear people greet someone so openly. Finishing his burger, he leaned an elbow on the counter and rested his jaw on his hand, turning to get a better look at his native counterpart as he lazily reached for his mustard bottle before taking a swig of the condiment.

Interest piqued, the fell monster studied the other, subtly running his eyes up and down the softer looking skeleton. The guy looked tired. Tired and moderately pissed off. Or at least, vaguely annoyed. He was hiding it pretty well, but Sans could read those expressions like a book. It was his own face, after all, 'sans' the fangs. His grin spread a little further. He wasn't sure why, but that sour expression on someone else was seriously amusing.

Sans stood there, stone-faced, not giving a single f-- just not caring anymore as more and more people finally noticed his pressence.

For some reason, the warm greeting had lost its appeal.

Sans was just about to make an excuse, a valid enough reason that might just ease their suspicions when he leaves, when he caught sight of the bartender.

Grillby looked beyond worried as he took in Sans's appearance, the wrinkled clothing, as if the skeleton hadn't had a change of clothes for a weak. The shorter monster looked positively haggard, an inception of bags under his eye sockets staining a gray-blue color. His bones had a brittle quality to it, the elemental worried that something might snap if ever the other moved wrong. What really threw him for a loop, was the painfuly forced smile that replaced the usual calm one that he normally constantly wear. All this was enough to make the fire elemental tense, ready to jump over the countertop if need be. After all, if Sans keeps refusing to take more care of himself, it falls to his hands, as the skeleton's long-time friend, to look after him instead. Grillby wondered if he had to kidnap Sans one day, if only to force him to eat more often.

Sans sighed.

Welp, seems there is no getting out of this now.

The skeleton in blue strode forward, his silent steps gliding across the wooden floor. Heading for his usual seat, he donned on his customary smile, walking in a slouch. Too late did he realize that said seat was located right next to where the black clad skeleton sat.

Sans sat there anyways, too tired to care. The weariness clouding his mind made it too hard to think so much, so he didn't, giving no regards whatsoever to the other skeleton sitting beside him.

The fell skeleton just so happens to look more and more familiar the more he looked, so Sans decided to ignore the other, facing straight ahead. The tale skeleton ordered his usual, looking over to the newly installed TV.

Another thing that changed, aside from the now-working juke box, were the new installations in Grillby's new bar.

Originally, the bartender wanted to merely recreate his old bar. Then he learned about how easy it is to get a juke box fixed now that they were on the surface. From there, the bar was upgraded from new lights, new windows, and more tables, to a brand new TV installed on the upper right wall by the juke box.

Sans sighed once more, seeing as the channel was currently on news. Why can't anything just go right, for once?

"hey there, pal." A vaguely familiar voice drawled out, coming from the skeleton sitting beside him. Sans stiffened up, grin sharp as he restrained himself from fleeing then and there.

"what crawled up yer pelvis 'n died?" The fell continued, speaking in what could have been a genial manner, if not for the way his eyelights glinted with wicked amusement.

Sans could do nothing but grit his teeth, seriously contemplating the repercussions of taking a shortcut in plain sight.

Sans huffed, and resigned himself to what looks to be a rather s****y day.


	4. Chapter 3: T̶h̶e̶ ̶D̶a̶t̶e̶ Talking Over a Meal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicknames, finally.

Sans contemplated his chances. He _really_ wasn't in the mood to chat with anyone, much less _this_ guy. Especially when certain suspicions of his were in the process of being confirmed. Of course, he had his own thoughts and theories about a particular event from a week prior. After all, who wouldn't think much about an oddly specific mountain randomly popping in out of thin air?

Still tense, Sans proceeded to disregard the fell. He forced himself to calm, but remained wary despite reminding himself that these new monsters meant no harm. Somehow, he had yet to make himself believe that, despite saying it to himself over and over for the past few days.

Feeling like his spine was about to give, Sans rested his arm on the counter, limply putting his weight on it. He might as well have been laying against the bar, what with this apparent weariness threatening to fell his bones.

The news was currently showing a censored picture of a recent car crash by the highway, other than that, it wasn't anything worth noting. Well, yet, anyways.

He quickly got disinterested, and instead, watched the other patrons for anything at all that he could join to pass time while he waited for his food. A card game, perhapse?.

Again, finding nothing noteworthy, his gaze followed Grillby as the bartender walked over and into the "fire exit", no doubt to get the food he ordered.

With nothing else to garner his attention, Sans was suddenly very aware of a certain someone burning holes at the back of his head, and was then reminded of his current double that's sitting on the stool right next to his. He briefly wondered whether the other had been glaring at him the whole time since he sat down at the bar. Just the thought made his nonexistent skin crawl.

Looking over, Sans had to fight the urge to grimace when he saw the sharper looking skeleton staring straight at him with a smirk. Gazing around only confirmed that, indeed, there was nothing else around that could save him from the inevitable exchange that was soon to come.

Looking back to the other skeleton showed the fell wiggling his eyebrows obnoxiously, as if very _obviously_ trying to make him take a hint.

With a long-suffering sigh, he found himself, yet again, accepting what seemed to be an undesirable fate.

Keeping a neutral facade, Sans steeled himself as best as he can with his brain going at a snail's pace. Remembering the fell's earlier words, Sans finally spoke. "hello to you too, chum. no offence, but i don't see how that's any o' ya business, since ya haven't even introduced yerself. y'know, like the polite way of greetin' someone ya'ven't even met." He felt his grin twitch. Man, he really needed that grub if his front started cracking this early in the day.

He was hoping for this to be a relatively short day but, unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case.

The fell snickered. Oh, this guy was fun. "heh heh. sorry, didn't mean ta butt in, 'sans' introduction."

Before Sans could reply, the other sat his mustard down before slowly offering a bony hand with a knowing smile on his face.

"name's Sans. Sans the skeleton. but m'pretty sure ya a'ready knew that. put 'er there, pal." For a moment, the fell Sans wondered whether this other him would notice the joy buzzer in his palm, or if he'd be too tired to. Or maybe he just wouldn't be expecting this sort of thing from someone else. Fell Sand wondered if Sans had any jokes literally up his sleeve.

Another sigh. Just as he suspected. Sans was getting real tired of these "series of unfortuate events" life apparently like to dump at him on a whim.

Moving to take the other's hand, he barely spotted the tiny contraption, hiding in the copy's palm.

'Really, now?' He inwardly grinned. 'Two can play at that game.'

Hiding his pause, he discreetly used his magic on his favored whoopie cushion in his secret ketchup stash-- one of his smaller ones that has a rather distinct sound. The secret ketchup stash was a hidden inner pocket in his jacket. He decided to sew it there himself when Papyrus started limiting his ketchup privileges.

Sans carefully transported the whoopie cushion as fast as he can, the rubber toy reaching the underside of his ready palm, just as his hand reached the other skeleton's. He was currently too sluggish to be entirely sure of his magic, so Sans wondered if his copy saw any of that.

The fell was watching for it, so of course, he noticed when the other Sans unobtrusively slipped something into his palm. He'd call the other out on it, but he wasn't exactly one to pass up an opportunity for a good joke. Their hands met, and Red clenched his fingers around the smoother bones of his alternate. The electric shock of his buzzer was absorbed by the rubber of the woopie cushion.

_PPPBBBBBBBBTTTTTTTTTTTttttttt..._

For the first time in what seemed to be a long while, Sans grinned, amusement sparkling in his eyelights. "heya sans, i'm sans. gotta say, i never really expected to ever meet, well, myself face-to-face-- aside from looking into mirrors, of course."

"heh. i see ya ain't just blowin smoke out yer a**." The rougher copy shook the softer's hand once up, then down, before pulling back. "can't say I really expected this day ta come, either. but m'glad ta see my funny bone is a universal constant." He chuckled reaching once more for his bottle of mustard.

Sans felt himself go lax as the other skeleton laughed.

Giving a short chuckle himself, the skeleton in blue retracted his hand, placing it on the countertop alongside his other arm. "same here, bud."

Sans raised an eyebrow when he saw the other grab a bottle of mustard. Seems the similarities are more limited than he thought, after all. Then again... who was he to judge?

Just then, the "fire exit" door opened, and out came Grillby with a tray in hand. Sans perked up, watching in anticipation as the bastender walked over to his side of the bar. The softer-looking skeleton's magic acted up, his SOUL visibly quivering for sustenance as the tray was placed before him, a bottle of ketchup following after. On the tray was one of the greasiest kind of burger in the bar. The aroma made his mouth water, moisture appearing in his eyesockets as his tongue unconciously formed.

Without further ado, he dug right in with almost-desperate vigor.

If he wasn't so enamoured with the food he so, very much needed, he'd have noticed that the grub right in front of him was significantly larger than his usual order. Had he taken one moment to look up, he'd have seen the unusually stiff flames on Grillby's face, signifying troubled emotions, soften the more he ate.

Meanwhile, the edgy skeleton watched his copy practically drool over a simple burger. He couldn't help raising a brow ridge at the way the other Sans tore into his grub the moment it hit the bar. Sure, it wasn't a bad burger, he'd put his own away in short order after all, but it wasn't like someone was going to just march in and take it from him, right? Was he not eating right or something? Well, not like he cared too overly much. He filed the information away for later anyway. You never know what kind of leverage a simple fact can be.

The native sans was halfway through his meal, when the food started to take effect. He finally allowed himself to slow down as his magic ceased its insistent churning.

Now eating at a more leisurely pace, Sans finally noticed his fell copy staring. Was he seriously doing that this whole time!? He regarded the other skeleton for a moment, incredulousity flashing through his eyelights, before shaking his head and deciding to let it go for now. He chewed thoughtfully for a while, trying to find a good, casual conversation topic, if only to disperse the suffocatingly tense atmosphere that had accumulated throughout the bar without him noticing.

"hey, uh. y'know what?" Sans started, placing his food down for a second as he thought over his words carefully. "now that i think about it, t'would be real confusing real quickly if we stuck to calling each other "sans". 'specially if ya decided to stay 'round these parts." He paused momentarily, taking his time to munch off another mouthful of his burger before continuing. "so, howzabout a nickname? whaddaya say?"

At the suggestion of a nickname, the fell monster's sharp-toothed smile curled even further while he let a socket fall close. He stared right into the softer skeleton's eyelights, before responding in the most sugary, sweet tone he could manage, what with his rumbling, deep voice. "aw, sweetheart. ya wanna give me a pet name a'ready? movin a little fast there, ain't'cha? what kinda monster d'ya take me fer?"

Hearing that faux, saccharine tone, the native Sans rolled his eyelights. He dropped the mangled burger onto a puddle of grease on his plate with a small splash, not minding the thick oily substance coating his phalanges, before turning to face the other with what served as his eyebrow raised. That forced, sickly sweet voice does not fit the edgier skeleton, he decided. "... not the kind of monster you have in mind, that's for sure." He answered in deadpan, sipping from his ketchup bottle almost daintily. "but of course, if ya want me to go first, what reason do i have to deny?" He mockingly winked, for good measure. "red."

The newly dubbed 'Red' snickered, showing off his unnaturally sharp teeth in a wide grin. "what? Ya take namin tips from yer king or somethin? red? that's the best ya got?" He set his bottle down, still trying to contain his laughter. It was just about empty, anyways. "an' here i thought I was 'red'y fer anythin ya threw at me. 'color' me surprised. heh heh." He ran his eye lights over the other sans appraisingly, not even trying to hide it. His grin turned smug as he took in the fading blue glow behind blunt teeth. "heh. ah s'pose that'd make you Blue? that is, if we're stickin ta yer a'ready established sh***y namin' conventions."

_'Blue, huh?'_ Sans snorted. As annoying as his supposed alternate was, at least he has a tasteful sense of humor. He inwardly smirked. For him, that is. _'Can't see anything going wrong with that.'_ He smiled ever so slightly, tossing what remained of his burger into his mouth, grease and all. He's got no reason to waste precious nourishment. Plus, with the pace his going, who knows when he'll be able to slow down enough to allow himself another meal?

Suddenly noticing something on his palm, Sans paused, only to see the whoopie cushion he used earlier, still sticking to his carpals. Was that there the whole time? Huh. Sans shrugged, using his magic to unstuck the now grease-covered rubber toy in order to stow it away, back into his secret stash.

As the whoopie cushion moved from his hand, Sans caught sight of the blue magic surrounding the rubber toy, and his smile fell. _'oh, right...'_ He froze momentarily, almost unnoticeably, before getting it over with and hastily stuffing the toy down his jacket and back to the inner pocket. _'I can, actually.'_ For a moment there, he had actually forgotten about his current predicament. He shook his head, taking his time downing half of his ketchup while trying to think of a way out of this situation. _'Lotsa things, in fact...'_

"No." Sans gave a miniscule flinch at the unintended hardness in his voice. D*****t, he'd forgetten himself again. He took a deep breath, closing his eyesockets, forcing himself to relax. "... comic."

Taking another swig of ketchup, Sans glanced at the other skeleton at the corner of his eyes, something sharp sparking in his eyelights. "call me comic."


	5. Chapter 4: Bad News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I usually write my drafts on Wattpad, just cause I find it easier to work with. But for some reason, just a few paragraphs from finishing the chapter, the draft disappeared and I had to start over from scratch, so instead of only three weeks at most, it took me two months to finish this due to my discouraged self.

Red tensed at the firm tone, accustomed to things going south very quickly whenever a mood changed like that.

 

Unbidden, his memory darted back to several dozen years ago. It was a normal night at Grillby's, full of jeers and mocking laughter. He had been sitting at his usual spot, nursing a mixture of mustard and wiskey, when a new chick came and sat a few seats to his left. The bird monster was a traveler from New Home, apparently having constantly been on the move ever since she lost her job and couldn't afford her apartment anymore. Red, of course, didn't know any of this back then, heck, he barely even noticed her come in. He was way too pre-occupied with drowning his sorrows to even notice the threat sitting just a mere few feet away, relying on his not-friend Grillby to snuff out any conflict. After all, everyone with half a brain knows better than to start anything that might damage _anything_ in the bar. All Red knew, as wasted as he was, was one moment, the chick was chugging some vintage beverage, the next, glass broke, and there's some crazy lady, foaming at the mouth, trying to eat his face. Apparently, the chick had had an extreme increase in EXP, probably from trying to defend herself while living in the streets, and got addicted and, not having helped herself, had slowly gone feral from gaining too much LV than her mind can handle. Red shuddered. That was an experience he _never_ want a repeat of.

 

Sans took a breath, and Red snapped out of his thoughts, just as the blue-clad skeleton announced his chosen name. The hard edges smoothed from the air, and Red took a breath himself, not taking his eyes off the other, even as his shoulders sagged and he slumped even further in his seat.

 

Red smirked, a bit sharper after that little jolt to his nerves, and leaned on the bar. He scoffed, "comic? heh. i dunno. far as i've seen, ya ain't that much of a funnybones."

 

The newly dubbed 'Comic' was just about to say something about the "funnybones" comment, when the sound of glass breaking startled both skeleton, alarmed eyelights darting around to spot the possible threat.

 

The first thing they noticed was Grillby, seemingly the source of the jarring noise. The bartender was still, a clean rag hanging from one hand while the other was still in the position of holding the cup he had dropped. The next thing was the sudden hush that enveloped the bar. Everyone was still, as if time itself had stopped. They would have started panicking right then and there if it wasn't for the drawling noise from the far right wall, seemingly the center of everyone else's attention.

 

Sans froze, paling even further than his current, weakened state, scared to look, scared to even _listen_ and understand any of what he's hearing, but he knew he had to. He knew he couldn't stay hidden forever, he _knew_ he's going to have to face it eventually. All he could do now was pray that it wasn't as bad he feared. Surely, his luck couldn't be this bad? He slowly turned, forcing himself to look... and watched as one of his greatest fears came to life, right before his eyes.

 

He had been spotted.

 

Red raised an "eyebrow", seeing his doppelganger pale even further than he thought possible, wondering what the big deal was. Then, he finally noticed what the whole bar was seeming staring at, and something on the news caught his attention. Suddenly, as if in a trance, he couldn't look away, couldn't do anything to diver his attention as both his brows now rose, curiousity and interest blooming from somewhere in his chest.

 

On the screen was a brown haired human female, standing in front of what looked like an old abbandoned building. Sans tuned in just in time to hear her say _"-- and here is where it happened. A few folders filled with various documents was later found, at least an hour after the man had died. According to the information we garnered, this apartment had apparently been taken over and made as one of the base-of-operations for that budding group of anti-monsters. All of it was proven as facts four hours later when the police raided the building and had caught several known terrorists and drug lords in the middle of a meeting. During the raid an officer happened upon a corpse of a middle-aged man in the back of the building. According from his cause of death, the man must have fell from a very high place. As the body reeked of alcohol, they would have written this off as an accident, but then, while searching the area, the police stumbled upon an old, barely-working surveillance camera in the building across the street. They checked it, just in case, and what they found shocked them to their very core. Here is what we found..."_

 

Due to the speed of the incident, it only had a few significant frames, and because of the length of it, the video was played on loop, replaying over and over, making certain that no one can possibly miss it. It was a barely-discernible, grainy, staticky mess. The first frame showed the back of the abandoned apartment building, whereas the upper portion of it was clearer while the farther parts faded into black. The next shows a silhouette in one of the windows, which disapeared from view in the next two frames. The shadow came back, only now it was bigger, as if there were more than one people standing against the light. Then a short figure, distinctly clad in blue, fell while seemingly dragging someone else along. While falling, the shorter one did something indiscernible to the other, before pushing him down and sending him even faster to the ground. Then... a flash of blue. Because of the former lack of light, the blue flash was blinding, taking up the whole screen. The next panel, and the figure had already disappeared.

 

By the second loop, Comic tuned away, turning his back on the TV. His gaze was distant, clutching hard at his ketchup bottle. Comic shrunk into his jacket, now completely leaning against the counter, unable to support his own weight. His eyelights had shrunk into barely-there, flickering pinpricks, reflecting the dread and shock that froze his bones and ate at him from inside.

 

Just as news reporter went on to theorize that the murder was the work of this 'unknown, costumed, monster vigilante', there was a gasp from behind the bar. _"Wisp..."_ Grillby gasped, stumbling back against the counter, gripping onto it, as if fearing that he'd fall if he doesn't hold on well enough.

 

At the whisphered name, a clamor started to spread. All the other patrons began talking among themselves, hushed voices laced with exitement and reverence and _fear._

 

And at the center of it all, Comic sat, unable to move as the silence was suddenly filled with hushed murmurs and excited, curious, fearful sounds of people talking, not hearing a single word of it over his own raging thoughts. _How could this be?,_ he asked himself, already knowing the answer, the bitter truth.

 

After several years of careful planning. Several years of work, just to keep himself hidden.

 

And it all came flushing down the drain, all because of a simple mistake.

 

He had grown too accustomed to this world beyond the war, he realized. He had been careless! Making mistakes he never would have made long ago.

 

And now, it had costed him dearly.

 

His eyesockets narrowed, white pinpricks shining with sudden clarity. Well not anymore.

 

He finished his ketchup, not caring about how painfully forced his grin had gotten, nor the confused, worried looks Grillby kept shooting him.

 

_Never again._

 

That was this universe's local legend, wasn't it? Red couldn't keep himself from grinning mischieviously, leering at his copy. He chuckled under his breath, his entire visage telling of a cat having caught a canary. He sipped his mustard, filing away all of what he's learned-- never hurts to have _leverage_ , after all. Again, he sniggered, this time loud enough to be heard. "heh. or maybe ya mean somethin' more along the lines of a 'comic' book? huh, Mr. Vigilante?" He remarked.

 

Comic, once again, froze, hearing Red's comment loud and clear. He kept his head down, not wanting to know if Grillby heard it as well.

 

Grin sharp, eyelights glowing dangerously bright, he snapped his head up and _glared_. "Oh no, Mr. Red. You seem to have misheard me." His tone was set in a dry, lazy drawl, hiding an underlying bitterness. Resting his elbows on his legs, Comic leaned forward, now facing the other skeleton completely.

 

 _'Careful now, Red.'_ His smile grew impossibly wide, giving him a deranged look, only meant to be seen by Red. _'Yer walkin' on thin ice here,_ buddy. _'Best to consider your steps, lest you make a wrong move and fall into the deadly, cold waters below.'_

 

"Let me say it again for you." The rest of the world faded to black, shoved to the back of Comic's mind as he stared intently into the other's eyelights. "You can call me Comic. D'ya hear me now or do you need me to call someone for your hearing problems?"

 

Okay, _that_ was definitely a threat. Red let his magic stir just beneath the surface, ready to jump to his call if he so needed it to. He turned to more fully face his alternate, his smirk never wavering. "Oh I hear ya just fine, Sweetheart." He leaned forward just slightly. Comic was actually _trying_ to keep this a secret. The supposedly softer copy was trying to threaten Red into silence, and he just couldn't help the sharp stab of amusement that rolled through his SOUL at the thought. Especially since Red seemed to be the _only one_ who _knew._ He briefly wondered just how out of it the guy was. He's pretty sure that his alternate's not an idiot, he _is_ a version of himself, after all. Surely, Comic could've figured it out if he was in the right mind? Red abruptly shook those thoughts out, clearing his mind. Now was not the time for some misplaced concern. Besides, this guy was turning out to be _so_ much fun!

 

"I think you n' me're gonna have a great time." And with that said, Red got up and started walking out, throwing a knowing smirk over his shoulder at his double as he did so. There was nothing Sans could do here. Not without raising suspicion. Oh, Red was going to have fun with this. The moment he was outside and away from prying eyes, he took a shortcut home.

 

Comic's face twitched in annoyance at his copy's words, burning holes on his back he left. The gall of that guy...

 

Shaking his head, he turned back to the bar and placed his arms on it, bowing his head.

 

Everything seems to be going so bad lately. So bad for him, that is. Comic sighed. He didn't have time for this. He's tired, he's barely even full, and he needs to be on full strength if he wanted to face anymore of this abuse from reality. Not that he actually wanted to, of course, but it's not like he really had a choice either. Letting his head drop, he heard the dull thud of his skull against the hard, polished wood. This whole thing's a mess.

 

The skeleton closed his eyes at the rapidly accumulating headache. _Everything's_ a mess right now...

 

He was so lost in thought, he didn't even notice as he started dozing off.

 

Behind the counter, Grillby stood, still staring at the TV screen, despite the news being on a completely different topic altogether. He hadn't seen Wisp in hundreds of years. Not since the war. Not since a single, particular moment when the legend had saved his life. As far as Grillby knew, he was one of the very, _very_ few who had caught a glimpse of him, as well as one of the even fewer that had seen him up close. He hadn't seen the monster's face, didn't know his true name, but he knew that outfit. He _knew_ that magic. It was unmistakeable. He hadn't meant to throw his bar into chaos with his revelation, but now it seemed that everyone within earshot knew what he'd just recognized.

 

Grillby's flames flickered uneasily as he tried to shake himself out from those troubling thoughts. He still has a bar to run, after all. What good would he be if he just stood around, staring into space? He took a step, only to stiffen up when he heard the crunch of broken glass. Looking down, he sighed, shoulders slumping. Oh, right. That.

 

As he turned to get something to clean up the mess with, his gaze wandered over to the counter. He noticed the darker version of his good friend had left. Only Sans remained... and he looked troubled. He'd been looking troubled for a while now, but this seemed to be something different. Grillby paused, thought for a while, then decided that cleaning could wait. He approached the small skeleton, concern only growing stronger with each step closer, and laid a warm hand on a rigid shoulder. "Sans?"

 

Comic startled, jumping in his seat as his head shop up to stare straight at the heavy gaze of his old friend. He scrambled to get his bearings, struggling to get a semblance of control on his emotions as he forced on his usual smile.

 

"uh, heeey, grillbz." Comic started, trying and barely succeeding to hide the panic in his voice. His vision kept fading on and off. Aside from his emotional turmoil, everything else was strangely numb."ya need anything?"

 

Grillby's flames flickered with further concern at that nervous tone. He leaned in a little more so his soft, hissing voice wouldn't be lost to the current excited din of his bar. "... Are you ok, Sans?" He paused, glancing at the empty seat next to his friend where a darker, sharper version of him had been seated not long ago. He frowned a little, before looking back at Comic. "Did... That other monster... say something?" He couldn't be sure, but it was the only thing he had to go on right now.

 

"uh... huh?" Sans was confused for a moment, mind too jumbled up to think very clearly over the wailing panic. It took him a few short seconds to realize what Grillby meant, but by then he was berating himself cause that was _totally_ not suspicious, not at all, no. Way to go, Sans, you idiot, you might as well _scream all your secrets to the rooftops--_

 

The sarcasm somehow let him settly his thoughts just enough to find a "proper" response. "uh, no! no. uh, who are we talking about again?" He couldn't seem to meet the elemental's eyes, his smile painfully tense. Blue-tinted drops of sweat started dotting his skull as he tried his best to shrink into his jacket.

 

Grillby only grew concerned as the conversation went on. If it could even be called a conversation... The fact that Sans either didn't recall the monster who'd been sitting next to him, or refused to acknowledge said monster, made things even more tense. How frustrating. It was fairly obvious that Sans wasn't about to confide in Grillby. The raucous environment likely didn't help.

 

When Grillby started looking even more worried, Sans started shouting curses in his head. He didn't know what he expected, he knew he wasn't a very good actor when he's tired-- why was he still even here!? Comic sat there, straight as a plank, staring forward with a painfully big smile. _'That's it.'_ He thought, _'I'm done. He's gonna find out. After years of scheming, careful planning, and someone's finally gonna know, all because of my own stupid life decisions!--'_

 

Grillby sighed. "Perhaps you should go home... you seem... tired..." His flames flickered gently. He wouldn't push Sans for answers; it wasn't his place to do so. He had spent enough time as a bartender to know how these kind of things work. He just wanted his friend to feel better. "Your meal is on the house today... just this once." And whenever else Sans seemed to need it. Not that Grillby thought Sans ever had any intention of paying off his tab. it was the thought that counted here.

 

\-- _Why did he even think that going out in his condition was okay?_ Comic was one word away from hyperventilating when Grillby's words finally registered, then he practically melted in relief. His raging thoughts promptly dissapeared, leaving his head feeling unnervingly empty, and his SOUL with numbing static. "uh." The skeleton winced, clearing his throat before trying again, "i-i mean, yyyeah! g-good idea, grillbz. i-i'ma-i'ma go 'n do that."

 

Nodding to himself, Comic twisted and hopped off his seat, taking a moment to steady himself on shaky legs."t-thanks a lot, pal. i owe ya one." His smile softened as he started towards the door. "guess i just wasn't feeling so hot, huh?"

 

Grillby watched his back. He didn't look away until the skeleton was finally out of sight. Only then did the bartender get back to work, trying his best to keep those unsettling thoughts at the back of his mind. He still had work to do, after all.

 

As soon as the bar was out of sight, Comic rushed over to a random, deserted alley, unconciously sticking to the shadows by habit.

 

His mind was blank the whole time, head lowered and hood up over his skull, both hands jammed deep into his jacket pockets.

 

For the first time since arriving at the surface, the walk did nothing to ease his troubled SOUL.

**Author's Note:**

> What do you think?


End file.
